December 2009

The semester is over and I, once again, have subsisted. The past few months for violin, my primary goals were learning Lalo’s Symphonie Espagnol and attaining better sight-reading ability. Sight-reading has been the bane of my violin existence ever since I was a smallish child. Although it’s difficult to find people who like sight-reading, most violinists at my level can muddle through it. I seem to be an exception. Some sort of psychological block occurs when I sight-read and it prevents me from demonstrating anything I know about meter, key signatures, and rhythm. I’ve been trying to develop my sight-reading prowess by sight-reading duos and going over various orchestral excerpts. It’s hard to tell if I’ve improved or not, but I suppose I will find out when I get home because my friends and I are having a chamber music party on Sunday. As far as Lalo, I have successfully completed the first four movements and I have performed the first 3. My assignment over winter break is the fifth movement. My fingers will be seeking vengeance shortly.

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